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Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan
I feel semi-qualified to comment on this, having lived in the U.S. for 10 years.
The thing that is different is the political conversation more generally. People who are Republicans tend only to be friends with Republicans--and likewise for Democrats. There's a huge amount of tribalism when it comes to politics in the U.S., which means that both sides are constantly demonizing each other and refusing to listen.
There's a little of that in Canada--but an interesting test is this: ask a Canadian (small "l") liberal this question. "Can you understand how someone could be conservative?" My feeling is that you'll generally get a pretty thoughtful answer that tries to understand how different values lead to different political preferences. The same question in the U.S. is sometimes met with something that amounts to "because they're evil."
I'm generalizing a bit--but my point is that overall, it's not that we don't have liberals and conservatives here, or even that their opinions aren't that strong. It's just that there's a little more willingness to listen to each other here, and less tendency to assume that your side has a monopoly on truth. Not that such an attitude is unheard of--far from it. I just think it's less prevalent on both sides.
And that's a good thing. In the end, democracy only thrives if it's based on the exchange and discussion of good ideas. Canada isn't perfect--but we do have a slightly healthier political conversation than our neighbours to the south do sometimes. And that's not about people not being "extremists" so much as it's about people cultivating a willingness to be reasonable about politics.
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I disagree.
While politics in Canada are much more reasonable than in the United States, I find that this is more the product of the system and culture of the United States, rather than a general unwillingness to be reasonable.
The United States is in a curious political position, where 30% of the country is right wing, to the point that they are unreasonable. That sounds like liberal rhetoric, but it's not. The far right wing cannot be debated with because they don't use reason, they use God and other stringent ideologies to justify their beliefs. Why isn't healthcare reform a good idea? Because God doesn't want it. You cannot debate that point and reasonable discussion dies there.
Though 70% of the country is reasonable, they are stuck with the Democrats. The Democrats are driving off the tracks as we speak, so the American people will be looking for a check on this corporatism with a side of incompetence. What's the check? The Republicans. People will vote Republican in order to have some sort of voice, which gives a completely unreasonable party ideologically, a political foothold in America.
The entire political spectrum in Canada would side with the Democrats ideologically, sans perhaps the Wildrose Party.